Percussion musical instrument.



.I. C. DEAGAN.

PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-7,19I4.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

being located at nodal points.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

JOHN C. DEAGAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

Original application filed December 19, 1913, Serial No, 807,663. Divided and this application filed October 7,1914. Serial No. 865,444.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that 1, JOHN C. DEAGAN, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Percussion Musical Instruments, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, this application being a division of my original application, Serial No. 807,663, filed December 19, 1913, upon which there has been issued Patent No.'1,128,112, dated February 9, 1915.

My invention relates to musical instruments and particularly to that class of musical instruments employing vibrating bars and has for its object the provision of an improved mounting for the bars having peculiar advantages as will be understood by the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated by the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating a portion of a Xylophone constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view on line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the dilferent figures.

A vibrating body 1 of the instrument, in this case a xylophone, is made of wood, metal or other suitable vibrating metal. This vibrating body is mounted upon elastic highly extensible and contractible cords 2 which pass through supporting posts 3 mounted upon rails 4, the cords 2 thus constituting cushion supports permitting of the vibration of the bars, these cushion supports Supplemental cushion supports 5 which are preferably in the form of cords that are not materially elastic underlie the bars 1 at their nodal points, that is they underlie the elastic cords 2. The supplemental cushions 5 closely approach the nether surfaces of the bars 1 and are preferably in contact with the top surfaces of the strips 6 of cushion felt which are placed upon the tops of the rails 4 to act as cushions yieldingly to limit the extent to which the supplemental cushlons 5 may be depressed by the sounding bar 1 above the same. The cushion strips 6 yieldlngly oppose the downward movement of the bar through the intermediation of the supplemental cushions 5. Normally however, slight clearance desirably intervenes between said supplemental cushions and the lower surfaces of the bars, while said supplemental cushions 5 are desirably permanently in contact with the cushion strips 6.

The supplemental cushions 5 also operate as emergency cushions to support the bars in the event of the breakage of the main cushion cords 2, such breakage being of frequent occurrence.

The instrument illustrated includes a resonating tube 7 which underlies the bar 1 and which is open at its upper end to permit of the entry therein of sound waves set up by the bar when set into vibration. The bar may be set into vibration by any suitable means, as for example, by means of a padded hammer impinged thereupon at the center of the bar which is in line with the axis of the resonating tube. The main concavity 8 is provided with a supplemental depression 9 in the form of an additional concavity, this additional concavity 9 being centrally located immediately over the mouth of the resonating tube 7 and making the middle portion of the bar reed-like in its tonal effect.

The resonating tube is desirably telescopically received within the bore of a support ing tube 10 directly secured to metallic fastening rails 11 which are supported at their ends in the usual way upon the frame work of which the side rails 4 form parts. The highly extensible elastic cushion supports 2, permit each resonating bar threaded thereby to be tilted as indicated by dotted lines at the upperpart of Fig. 4 whereby access may be hadto the interior of the tube 7, the elastic cord, by means of its resilience, serving to restore the bars to the normal condition illustrated by full lines at the upper part of Fig. 4.

In the drawing I have shown but one unit of a musical instrument, it being understood that a plurality of bars 1 with their associate parts are assembled into a single instrument, the bars serving to produce the various musical scale tones of the musical instrument.

While I have herein shown and particubar to sup ort it andstretching to ermitlarly described the preferred embodiment of the bar to e tilted from its normal p ane. my invention I do not wish to be limited to 2. A musical instrument including a 5 the precise details of construction shown as sound-producing bar and suspended elastic 5 changes may readily be made without dehighly extensible and 'contractible cords parting from the spirit'of my invention, but upon which the bar is supported.

Having thus, described 7 my invention I In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe claim as new and desireto secure by Letters my name this 19th day of Sept, A. D. 1914. Patent the following a JOHN C. DEAGAN.

o 1. A musical instrument including a Witnesses: r v sound-producing bar; and elast'c highly ex- CHARLES J. Lns'rm,'

tensible and contractible cords threading the E. J. Ex'rmz. 

